Take action against eating disorders....

Embrace Your Genes is more than a rallying cry, it is a fashion statement. We support healthy bodies of all shapes and sizes! And that’s the goal of embraceyourgenes.org, a public awareness campaign created by the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) and TrueJeans.com. We have joined together to encourage you to embrace your genes, be comfortable with who you are, and support the programs of NEDA by purchasing jeans that fit the TRUE you.
SAVE 20% ON DESIGNER JEANS THAT FIT THE TRUE YOU

TrueJeans.com, the online jeans store that matches shoppers to jeans that fit each person’s unique body, has partnered with the National Eating Disorders
Association (NEDA) as the exclusive jeans retail sponsor behind NEDA’s Embrace Your Genes campaign. True Jeans is supporting NEDA in this important work and working to promote healthy body images so that people of all shapes and sizes can embrace their genes and find jeans that fit their true body shape.
For every discount redeemed, True Jeans will donate an additional $20 to NEDA to join in efforts to prevent and cure eating disorders and promote a healthy body image. Visit truejeans.com and enter promo code: MYGENES at checkout. Min. order of $100. Offer expires July 31st, 2008

Please help support the fight against eating disorders. I don't have words to express the heartache you feel seeing your daughter on the scale at 16 and having the weight read 96 pounds. Or for the frustration trying to find care that isn't easily available.

RWA is coming up...

the big event in Romance novel writers. It's National Convention, where the big awards are given out.... and the trash talking has begun



Laughed myself silly over this, enjoy.

A beautiful blog I stumbled upon...

If you have younger girls, or a fondness for simpler times ala Anne of Green Gables or Laura Ingalls.... you MUST visit this blog. Seriously. I insist. Especially you Lily.
The Cottage at Frog Creek to use her own words about the creation of her blog

"I grew up with Anne of Green Gables and Laura Ingalls Wilder, with my grandmother’s snickerdoodles and my mom’s old Singer sewing machine. I believe there is more value in the old than the new, and often more wisdom in the old, slow way of life than in today’s drive-thru existence. The introduction of my 1949 Singer Sewing Book says “A person with a hobby is a person whose life is interesting. When the mind and the hands are occupied with the creation of something useful and attractive, there is no room for discontent, boredom, petty worries, fears and jealousies…” It is my hope that Tevis might inspire a few of today’s girls to put their hands to better use than pushing buttons on the remote control and the mobile phone"

Oh yeah, there are recipes and sewing tutorials there, if you need still more reason to visit.

pasta with caramelized onions and blue cheese

this was tonights dinner, so quick to make and omg so delicious.

1 pound chunky pasta (we used barilla mezze penne)
1 tbsp olive oil
6 cups chopped onions (we sliced into thin rings)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1/2 cup cooking sherry
1/2 cup vegetable stock or water.
4 ounces crumbled blue cheese (we used 7)
bring a large pot of water to a boil, add the pasta and cool el dente.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, add the oil and cook the onions until soft and golden. Add in the cooking sherry, salt, pepper and vegetable stock. Stir with a wooden spoon to get all the yummy bits off the bottom of the pan. Drain pasta and put into large bowl, pour the onion mixture over the top and toss to mix, then add the crumbled blue cheese and toss until melty and coating the pasta (it will not completley melt) add hot cooking water from the pasta if needed to thin it out.
Serve.
I'd have had a picture but it was devoured.

Home!

It was an amazing weekend and I am exhausted. Sherrilyn Kenyon and Dianna Love are both incredible women and I am blessed to have had the opportunity to meet them. Will update the post tomorrow with all the details of the weekend. =)

Playing in photoshop...

My beautiful daughter Chryssie,she was sitting by the lilacs and took this picture of herself. It's one of my favorites. I did a very simple, but lovely, trick with this.
Open the picture in ps, right click the layer and select duplicate layer, gausian blur (15) the duplicate layer, then in the layers tab, where it usually says "normal" click the drop down menu and pick overlay, thats it. It gives a wonderful softened, brightened, ethereal quality to the picture.

Too hot to do anything but....

read -smiles- I am currently reading



I am on a Highlander kick still for the most part. I am really enjoying Melissa Mayhue and her fresh take on the whole Highlander/Time Travel/Fae thing. The sex scenes are not as explicit as Karen Moning's.

I'm melting....

Man has it been hot here. Last Saturday was the town Bike Rodeo so me and the kids walked over. It was the first day of our current 'heat wave' but the kids had a lot of fun. There were games, a cookout and a 10 bike giveaway. I was really hoping Andrew or Adrianna would win a bike, but it wasn't to be. They had a lot of fun though, and if I can figure out how, I will post pictures.

Adrianna with the 'Alternate' Dairy Princess

Andrew getting his face painted, he kept letting other kids go until this girl was done so he could have her do his face -grins-

Adrianna getting her face painted, a butterfly.
I have been getting ready for the CR-RWA Conference
so very excited it is in just a couple days now! I think the first chapter is nearly ready, with a bit of editing. I am meeting up with my writing partner, so I am doubly excited!

Recently Read...

I have been on quite a reading streak the last month. It all began with not one, but two friends, who were absolutely shocked I had not ever read a book by Karen Marie Moning. After reading a review of a couple, I went to my libraries website and ordered as many as I could lay my hands on.
Beyond the Highland Mist (The Highlander Series, Book 1)Kiss of the Highlander (The Highlander Series, Book 4)The Immortal Highlander (The Highlander Series, Book 6) and every other one of her Highlander's I could lay my fingers on. I love the mix of time travel and fae. The books have me longing for my own Highlander. I also read the first of her new books Darkfever (Fever Series, Book 1) and while I will likely read the rest of them, I was a bit disappointed that there really was no conclusion with the end of book one.
Another recent read, and very happy find, is a young adult book by Melissa Marr... Wicked Lovely Incredible writing. This woman knows how to world build. I was completely pulled in from the first page. These are not your pretty fairies of girl scout days. Fair warning. But if you like things a bit darker, this book will keep you spellbound to the last page, and leave you hungry for more.